Clallam County elections officials will mail 42,256 ballots to voters today for the Nov. 2 general election
“The ballots are ready to go and will picked up tomorrow morning by the postal service,” County Auditor Cathleen McKeown said Tuesday.
Clallam residents have been voting through the all-mail system since 2001.
But this will be the first presidential election to be done entirely without precinct polling on Election Day, McKeown said.
She said voters will find a single ballot, which does not require people to select a party preference, unlike September primary packets which contained three partisan ballots and a nonpartisan ballot.
“This is truly an election, whereas the earlier ballot was a nominating process,” she said.
“People do not have to select a party to vote. This is what people are used to.”
McKeown said ballots should arrive in homes by Friday or Saturday.
“If people do not get their ballots by Tuesday, Oct. 19, they should call us,” she said.
People can call 360-417-2221 for ballot questions.
Nov. 2 deadline
Ballots must be returned to the elections office no later than 8 p.m. on Nov. 2.
McKeown said people mailing ballots should check collection times at their local post office to make sure they obtain a Nov. 2 or earlier postmark.
Ballots can also be hand-delivered at three locations from this week up to no later than 8 p.m. Nov. 2.
The locations are:
* Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles. A drive-up drop box is provided.
* Sequim Motor Vehicle Licensing Office, 1001 E. Washington St., Sequim.
* Forks District Court, 500 E. Division St., Forks.
In Jefferson County, precinct polling on Election Day is still allowed, but more and more are choosing the mail-in option.
A record 13,715 absentee ballots will be mailed to Jefferson County voters today.
“That’s 1,300-plus more than the primary election,” said county Elections Coordinator Karen Cartmel.
Although absentee voting now represents about 64 percent of the county’s 22,005 voters registered as of Tuesday, Auditor Donna Eldridge said there is no movement afoot to vote entirely by mail.
“In Jefferson County there are a number of individuals that go to the polls,” Eldridge said.
Statistics show that number dwindling.
In 2002, the percentage of votes cast at the polls was 30.83.
Unofficially, Eldridge said, 2,542 voters — about 29 percent — went to the polls in the Sept. 14 primary election.